In this edition:

Digital Projectors
9th October 2017
Welcome to this fortnight's edition of LITed: Liturgical Education News. 
For many of us, it is hard to imagine liturgy without having access to a data projector.  This technology is now considered by some as integral to the way we celebrate on a Sunday. Access to a projector is often considered mandatory at funerals and weddings. In this fortnight's LITed, we explore best practice when it comes to using data projectors and ask, do we actually need them?
​James Robinson
Education Officer, Liturgy Brisbane

Feature Articles:

Do we need a data projector at Mass?

We are never going to learn the 'new' responses for Mass if we keep on reading them. We need to work on building our collective capacity.

Catholic Worship Book II online?

There are a number of very good reasons to consider using CWBII. Most importantly, it contains excellent liturgical music.

Sad Funerals

Read Fr Tom Elich's recent editorial in Liturgy News, 'Sad Funerals'. He reminds us that funerals are more than a collection of photos and stories.
"I thank God that many families, which are far from considering themselves perfect, live in love, fulfil their calling and keep moving forward, even if they fall many times along the way. The Synod’s reflections show us that there is no stereotype of the ideal family, but rather a challenging mosaic made up of many different realities, with all their joys, hopes and problems.” 

Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia #57

Recommended Resources

Daily Mass Book

​The Daily Mass Book runs from Advent to Advent. Compact and economical, its 600 pages are printed in two colours throughout and its layout is very easy to follow. It contains all the texts for Sunday and weekday Mass. No need for a data projector when you have one of these!

The Order of the Mass

This resource contains all the responses for Sunday and Weekday Masses.  Recommended for children in schools, for catechumens and visitors to the church. This booklet contains the Order of Mass with all Eucharistic Prayers as well as the solemn blessings and Rite for Sprinkling Water. 

Power point of the structure of the Mass

​This free download is available from the Ossory, Ireland Diocese's website. It contains all of the responses using a very plain background. A reasonable start if you require a template to use for your Sunday liturgy. Clicking 'find out more' will begin the download.

The Purpose of Liturgy

This 8-minute clip quickly and reasonably defines key terms that liturgists use every day: 'ritual', 'liturgy', 'Eucharist'. The presenter uses an alternative to Powerpoint called, '​Prezi'. Prezi is a web-based application for presentations. There is a charge for the pro-version (remember, it costs to use Powerpoint too!) The content of the video is recommended, but it is worth watching to see how Prezi works. You see the whole palette (imagine all your slides laid out on a table). The speaker zooms into parts of the palette as he makes each point. Used carefully, it can be a dynamic and interesting change from death-by-Powerpoint! ​

Headlines from other publications

Liturgy Lines by Elizabeth Harrington

Parts of the Mass: The Eucharistic Prayer
The Eucharistic Prayer is the centre and summit of the Mass. Its origins are to be found in the blessing prayer (berakah) of the Jewish Passover meal. At the last supper, Jesus added to this traditional prayer the words ‘This is my body’, ‘This is my blood’. Over time, the prayer was gradually altered and simplified. The following elements are always included, thought the order may vary:
  • thanksgiving, especially in the Preface which gives thanks for the whole work of salvation or for some special aspect of it;
  • invocation or epiclesis, the calling down of the Holy Spirit on the gifts of bread and wine;
  • institution narrative, the retelling of the scriptural account of Christ’s words and actions at the last supper;
  • ​memorial prayer which recalls the paschal mystery (see final paragraph);
  • ​offering in which the entire Church and this assembly offer Christ and themselves to God in union with Christ;
  • second invocation of the Spirit, this time on those gathered that they may become ‘one body, one spirit in Christ’;
  • intercessions for the Church and the world, the living and the dead;
  • final doxology (‘through him, and with him, and in him, ….’), the prayer of praise in which the celebrant sums up and concludes the thanksgiving offered to God.
For centuries, only one Eucharistic Prayer, known as the Roman canon, was used. Its origins date back to the time of Ambrose in the fourth century. After the Second Vatican Council in the mid-1960s, a special committee was established to study the Roman canon in light of the liturgical reforms called for by the Council. It was clear that the prayer had several weaknesses, including lacking a strong sense of praise and an explicit epiclesis (invocation of the Holy Spirit). Rather than make major alterations, the committee decided to retain the Roman Canon with some minor changes and to issue alternative Eucharistic Prayers which could replace it at Mass. In 1968, a slightly revised version of the Roman canon was published as Eucharistic Prayer I, along with three other prayers designated as Eucharistic Prayers II, III and IV.
The technical term for the commemoration of the passion, resurrection, and ascension of Christ which is part of every Eucharistic Prayer is the Greek word anamnesis. It sounds like the word ‘amnesia’ and it does in fact come from the same derivation. When you suffer from amnesia, you lose your memory. So an-amnesis means not to lose your memory, or not to forget.
When we celebrate Mass, we gather to hear our foundational story so that we will not forget it. It is not, however, a nostalgia trip back to the past like telling school-day stories at a class reunion. By calling to mind the events of the Paschal Mystery – Christ’s life, death and resurrection, we bring these past events into the present so that we become part of the story and participate in it.

Liturgy News

In the September issue:
  • Liturgy and the Lutheran Church - recognising the 500 year anniversary of the Reformation by Matthias Prenzler
  • The Directory for Masses with Children - revisiting this important document with Eileen Luthi
  • Fold-out Liturgy Planning Calendar for 2018 Year B/2 

Contact Us

Cathedral House
229 Elizabeth Street
Brisbane Qld 4001
Phone: 07 3324 3314
[email protected]
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